A tragic incident unfolded early yesterday morning when a 21-year-old pregnant woman lost her life after the vehicle she was in ended up in a body of water off State Route 4. The California Highway Patrol reported that the accident occurred around 5:15 a.m. near Whiskey Slough Road in San Joaquin County, as noted in a statement obtained by CBS Sacramento.
Witnesses described the vehicle, a 2008 Honda Fit, as driving recklessly and crossing over double yellow lines at speeds of 65 miles per hour prior to the crash. Following the incident, the 27-year-old male driver managed to escape and attempted to flag down aid for his wife, who remained trapped inside the submerged car. The driver's efforts to quickly find assistance for his wife were ultimately unsuccessful as the search for the vehicle became difficult due to dense hyacinth covering the water, reducing visibility, as reported by ABC10.
The depth of the water ranged from 2 to 20 feet, further complicating the rescue efforts. Authorities were unable to locate the car initially but leveraged assistance from a CHP helicopter and a San Joaquin County Sheriff's boat. A sheriff's office drone pinpointed two areas of interest, one of which would lead to the discovery of the car about five feet below the water's surface.
The Sacramento DART team made the critical intervention to eventually locate the car, connecting a cable from a tow company to lift the vehicle from the water. Upon retrieval, the young woman was found inside and pronounced dead at the scene. The CHP has ruled out alcohol and drugs as factors and continues to investigate the cause of the crash. Portions of SR 4 were closed for the duration of the rescue operation but have since been reopened according to updates from CalTrans.
